Are You Living Your Own Values - or Someone Else's?
Valuism = Living Your Values as a Life Philosophy
This article is a cross-post with the awesome Clearer Thinking. Join their 270,000+ subscribers for tools to improve your critical thinking and help you make behavior changes that are important to you.
“If you’re often feeling down, anxious, burnt out, a lack of meaning, or like you’re floating through life, it might be because you’re out of alignment with your values.”
This article will:
Help you identify your core values.
Introduce you to the new philosophy of Valuism (Valuism = living your values as life philosophy).
Teach you the difference between intrinsic vs. instrumental values.
Explain the link between values, meaning, and life purpose.
Background
We’re surrounded by conflicting advice on how to live our lives – from our parents, peers, communities, ancient philosophers, and from modern gurus and intellectuals.
But there’s an anchor in the storm of noise: our values.
Specifically, living by our values.
When you know what you value, it’s easier to make effective decisions about how to live.
Values open the door to a life of meaning and purpose – both of which are tightly linked to well-being and happiness.
And, low levels of meaning and purpose are associated with depression and anxiety.
Some researchers have suggested that Western societies are experiencing a mental illness epidemic and that among its root causes is a “crisis of meaning.” If, in fact, we’re in a crisis of meaning, a renewed focus on values might be the way out.
In the past couple of years I’ve been lucky enough to connect with Spencer Greenberg, the Founder of the awesome, altruistic organization Clearer Thinking.
A while back I was preparing for an appearance on the Clearer Thinking podcast when I came across a series of essays Spencer wrote outlining his thinking on a concept called Valuism.
He defines Valuism as living your values as a life philosophy.
Even though the approaches I use in my work as a psychologist - including cognitive behavioral therapy and Stoicism - emphasize values-based living, I had never seen anything that put the importance of living your values in such first-principles terminology.
I’ve found the idea of Valuism useful in both my personal and professional life, so I want to share it with you.
This article is an introduction to Valuism. It combines the insights of Spencer’s philosophy with my experience helping clients align their lives more closely with their goals and values.
How Valuism Can Help You
More than just a fluffy command, Valuism builds on existing philosophical and scientific work related to the concept of a values-based life. Valuism helps you:
Bring attention to your most fundamental values (i.e., your intrinsic values).
Prioritize how to spend your time, energy, and resources (with specific emphasis on using effective methods to create more of what you value).
Navigate difficult decisions (which are often decisions where multiple values are in conflict).
Develop your own path to a greater sense of meaning and purpose.
Why We Need to Be Explicit About Our Values
Human behavior is deeply shaped by reflexes, habits, and the environments we grow up in. The resulting patterns of thought and behavior - although often helpful for navigating everyday life - can sometimes prioritize immediate needs or socially learned behaviors over intentional choices aligned with our deeper values.
Our beliefs about ourselves, other people, and the world are also shaped by the cultural messages we absorb. Parts of the cultural milieu, including social media and targeted advertising, might influence us to desire things that don’t necessarily align with our values.
And, even when it feels like we know - with certainty - what will make us happy, the reality is that humans aren’t great predictors of what will lead to happiness. Plus, when we get something that does make us happy, we tend to return to our baseline level of happiness rather quickly.
What does all of this mean?
Well, it means that you might actually be pursuing (or avoiding) certain things in life not based on your values, but based on a range of other influences, from the environment you grew up in to advertisements.
If you’re often feeling down, anxious, burnt out, a lack of meaning, or like you’re floating through life, it might be because you’re out of alignment with your values.
Valuism provides a framework for cutting out the noise by encouraging you to focus on what you intrinsically value.
This clarity helps to ensure that you’re not accidentally chasing something you think you value or that you feel you should value.
But, first, what are values exactly?
Values are things you care about deeply. They’re often core to your identity. At a high level, people’s values often include things like justice, courage, love, pleasure, learning, and achievement.
Knowing – and living – your values is important for shaping your life the way you want it to be.
But, it can be hard to figure out which of your values are intrinsic rather than instrumental, so let me clarify:
An intrinsic value is something you value for its own sake. You care about your intrinsic values even when they get you nothing else.
An instrumental value is something you value because it gets you something else. It is a means to an end.
For example, most people have their own happiness as one of their intrinsic values – they care about feeling happy, even if that happiness doesn’t create any additional benefits. On the other hand, people value money only instrumentally. If they couldn’t use that money to get something else, it would have no value to them.
Valuism suggests that it’s useful to align your life with the things you value intrinsically. It implies that misalignment between your intrinsic values and behavior is sub-optimal.
Let’s say that you intrinsically value learning new things. That is, even if learning new things brought no secondary benefits, you’d still want to continue learning new things. But let’s also say that you’re in a job that requires a ton of repetition with very little learning of new things. Unless you’re satisfying that value of learning new things through other means, you’ll likely feel dissatisfied, at least with that domain of your life. In response, you’d probably want to take steps to integrate more learning into your work-life to better-align it with your values.
Identifying Your Intrinsic Values
Let’s use the language of instrumental versus intrinsic values in terms of our example above. In that scenario, continually learning new things is the intrinsic value. “A promotion” or “career advancement” would be instrumental values that may (or may not) serve the intrinsic value of learning.
Here’s another example: imagine a person who is pursuing a prestigious law career. They’re sure that they value career success – but do they value it intrinsically? Maybe they just value it instrumentally as a way to get other things, like money, the approval of family or peers, or as a way to influence the world for the better.
If you’re a Valuist – that is, you pursue the life philosophy of Valuism – then you work to figure out what you intrinsically value, and then you try to use effective methods to pursue those values.
Like I mentioned, your own happiness is probably one of your intrinsic values. A Valuist approach to serving your happiness would be to identify effective ways of increasing happiness, like building healthy relationships with good people you’re compatible with.
Prioritizing intrinsic values is a type of first principles thinking for how to direct your life.
Just a note: although Valuism emphasizes intrinsic values from a first principles lens, it doesn’t mean that instrumental values aren’t important.
Instrumental values are important. It’s just that you might be able to more directly serve your happiness by distinguishing between:
what you intrinsically value, versus
things that are tools to help you serve your intrinsic values.
A trap that people fall into sometimes is pursuing their instrumental values even when doing so doesn’t do a good job of producing what they intrinsically value.
A related trap is that many people live trying to get what other people value – for instance, based on what their family or surrounding culture says is valuable – rather than based on what they themselves deeply value.
Both of these traps can be a source of meaninglessness and low well-being.
How to Identify Your Intrinsic Values
One way to work out whether something is one of your intrinsic values is by asking yourself, “if this were created, but it didn’t bring any other positive consequences, would I still value it?”
For example, you surely value having food. But if you had a pile of “food,” but it contained no nutritional value, you derived no pleasure from eating it, it didn’t have any pleasant aromas or aesthetic value, and nobody else wanted it, would you actually still value it? Probably not – food is not an intrinsic value, despite being something that we all value instrumentally. Specifically, food is an instrumental value that helps you serve intrinsic values like survival and pleasure.
Getting Specific
Although values are often thought of in terms of single-word concepts like ‘fairness,’ ‘achievement,’ and ‘learning,’ being more specific can make it easier to live your values. In their research, Clearer Thinking has found it useful to represent values as phrases, as opposed to single words.
For example, although “learning” could be seen as an intrinsic value, it’s actually more of a domain. Within the domain of learning there are more specific intrinsic values like:
‘continually learning new things’
‘becoming more intelligent than I am now’
‘that humanity continues to makes progress discovering things that weren't previously known’
Clearer Thinking came up with a list of intrinsic values based on what philosophers and psychologists have said about human values. Then they conducted research with hundreds of people to help refine the list.
The result was an - admittedly long - list of 92 intrinsic values. These 92 intrinsic values fall within 22 broader domains.
The graphic below depicts the 22 domains. Click here to launch an interactive version of it. It’s a useful tool for exploring your values.
A graphic depicting the 22 domains of values identified in Clearer Thinking’s research. Click here to launch an interactive version of it.
Based on their list of 92 possible intrinsic values, Clearer Thinking developed the Intrinsic Values Test. It’s a detailed self-assessment and it takes some time, but I find it’s well worth it for the data and the personalized summary you’ll get to see at the end.
The Intrinsic Values Test was initially piloted with a sample of 2,106 people. The table below shows some results that give you an idea of the intrinsic values that people rated as most important.
Let me be clear – neither I nor Clearer Thinking are suggesting that we’ve captured all of the world’s intrinsic values. Nor are we saying that the way they’ve been worded in Clearer Thinking’s research is the right, or only, way to word intrinsic values. What we are proposing is that the set of intrinsic values included in the Intrinsic Values Test is a well thought-out and well-piloted list of specific intrinsic values that you can use as you reflect on your own specific intrinsic values.
Over time you might tweak and change your values and their priority rankings.
You might also experiment with which methods you find most effective in giving you more of what you value.
Navigating Conflicting Values
Knowing that we each have multiple intrinsic values across multiple domains, how do we “balance” our competing intrinsic values?
First, recognize that tension between values is common. Some situations will naturally pit values against each other. You might find yourself in a situation where being honest with a friend will hurt their feelings. If you intrinsically value both honesty and not harming others, this will create a fundamental trade-off between two of your values.
Not only will you naturally experience some tension between different values, but empirically, both Spencer and I have independently observed that people’s values often seem to obey a form of diminishing marginal returns: if they try to let one value dominate over the others, the pull of other values becomes stronger.
For example, let’s say that one of your values is “that during my lifetime I make the world better than it would have been without me.” You channel this value into organizing community events focused on environmental sustainability. As you become more involved in this work, you begin to notice that your personal well-being – which relates to several other intrinsic values you hold dear – is declining. You're sacrificing sleep, missing family gatherings, and neglecting hobbies that previously brought you joy.
You temporarily take a step back and decide to delegate some responsibilities and cut back a bit on the time you dedicate to community events. This allows you to maintain your commitment to making a positive impact while also ensuring that you have time to rest, connect with loved ones, and engage in personal interests. By rebalancing how you’re spending your time and energy, you not only sustain your passion for environmental work but also enhance your overall well-being.
Tension between values is not a sign of failing. It’s often the sign of working hard to live an intentional and values-based life.
Related, I’ve observed that some of the most difficult decisions to make are ones where multiple values are pitted against each other (whether we realize that’s what is happening or not). However, it’s often possible to make really hard decisions easier if we look at them through a values lens.
Spencer has previously written a more detailed article on conflicting values that includes a step-by-step approach you may find useful for decisions involving conflicts between your values.
As you set out to identify and live your intrinsic values, navigate the push and pull between competing values with self-compassion. Give yourself credit for living a values-based life and recognize that there is no such thing as perfection when it comes to balancing your values.
The Link Between Values, Meaning, and Purpose
Why am I so convinced of the importance of living a values-based life?
Well, it has been proposed that clarity on your values might help you achieve what some consider to be the pinnacle of human flourishing - a life of meaning and purpose. Although Valuism does not propose that you should value meaning or living a life of purpose, you may be interested in some of the following findings.
For example, people with a stronger sense of purpose have been found to live longer and show evidence of greater physiological health (e.g., resting cardiovascular activity, metabolism, inflammation). Purpose also influences how people cope with negative life events, whether those be major stressors or daily hassles.
This aligns with findings from a global study of life satisfaction involving 1.7 million participants. It found that life meaning and purpose had strong, consistent associations with each of the study’s measures of subjective well-being. This finding held across regions and ages.
Coalescing your intrinsic values around a purpose could be appealing to you. Some examples of meaning-based or purpose-based living include:
A teacher who defines their life purpose as ensuring that underprivileged children have access to quality education and opportunities for higher learning. One of their greatest sources of meaning is in preparing and leading activities that help adolescents who are interested in the skilled trades.
An artist who sees their purpose as using art to raise awareness about important societal issues. One of their greatest sources of meaning is discussing their work with people who are unfamiliar with the topics they are passionate about.
A family member whose purpose is preserving family history and traditions to strengthen the bonds between current and future generations. One of their greatest sources of meaning is sharing family lessons, traditions, and mementos with their nieces and nephews.
When we’re doing things that produce what we most deeply care about – the things that we intrinsically value – it stands to reason that we increase the odds of experiencing that sought-after rush of meaning, even when things are hard.
Likewise, when we zone in on a purpose for our life and work, that feeling and the well-being that follows are within our grasp.
On the other hand, when we’re doing things that we don’t truly value, we’re susceptible to feeling unfulfilled, stuck, or like our efforts are meaningless. People often describe this as something akin to Sisyphus pushing a boulder up a hill only to have it roll back down time after time.
It's worth noting that researchers in the field of psychology have called for increased examination of the nature of – and relationship between – meaning and purpose. I believe that there could be research questions relevant to Valuism associated with this line of research. For example: in what ways are levels of meaning and happiness associated with levels of intrinsic values-based behaviour? And, can people who report having a life purpose more readily identify and act upon their intrinsic values?
For now, based on the existing research and theory associated with the constructs of meaning and purpose, it seems reasonable to hypothesize that identifying and living your intrinsic values could lead to an increased sense of meaning or purpose in life.
In Sum
I believe that clarity on your intrinsic values – and then living those values – helps you experience meaning.
This clarity also helps us make difficult decisions and avoid common traps – such as pursuing our instrumental values even when they don’t help us get our intrinsic values, or living by someone else’s values rather than our own.
Valuism, as a life philosophy, tells us to figure out our intrinsic values, and pursue them using effective methods. So, in many ways, it’s a philosophy designed to help you create more meaning in your life.
If I were to come up with a quick ‘to do’ list for integrating Valuism in your life, it would look something like this:
1. The first step is identifying your intrinsic values.
2. Then, experiment with doing more of the things that allow you to directly serve those intrinsic values.
3. Notice ways in which your goals and actions don’t align with your intrinsic values - and do fewer of the things that you have historically felt you “should” do but which aren’t directed toward your intrinsic values.
4. Navigate the tension between competing values with acceptance and self-compassion. When multiple intrinsic values come into conflict, notice the fundamental trade-offs being made.
5. Watch your sense of meaning increase as you build your life around what you actually (most deeply) care about.
6. If you want to take things a step further, try to craft one or more purpose statements based on your intrinsic values.
The beauty of Valuism is that you’re in charge - you get to live your life based on what you truly care about.
Although the promise of Valuism is lofty, it’s grounded on what we know – from quality research – contributes to happiness and well-being.
If you feel stuck, down, or disconnected from meaning, zoning in on your values could be the path to a life of more meaning, happiness, and purpose.
I trust that you’ll agree that there’s little downside to living a life based on your well-considered intrinsic values, and I’m eager to have you join me and Clearer Thinking on the journey of aligning your life with your values. It’s an empowering way to live.
I say this all the time—one of the biggest issues people face at work is a values clash. Whether it’s with the organization, their boss, or both, when your core values are out of sync, no amount of managing or “managing up” can fix it. It’s a fundamental mismatch. I think that’s a big reason so many people are unhappy in their jobs. What they need and want just doesn’t align with what their employer or manager is offering.
Honestly, I wish there had been more emphasis on this in college—really helping people understand how important it is to find a workplace that aligns with your values and interests. Side projects or hobbies can help, but they don’t always solve the core issue. Sometimes the best thing you can do is actually leave.
This is making me think of Wanting by Luke Burgis (based on theory of mimesis from Rene Girard) -- absolutely a must read if you're interested in this thread of exploring what your values are and where they come from!! You might also enjoy this tool we built https://happinessmeansbusiness.com/values-tool/ it's pretty simple but can make for a useful start point.